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Computer Associates Offers Warranties

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the you-bet-your-identity dept.

Kelvin D. writes, "Computer Associates has come up with a new angle to get consumers to buy its security software — a warranty with cash benefits if you catch a virus ($1,500) or get your identity stolen ($5,000). From the article: 'Users who want the identity theft coverage need to both install and register their copies of Warranty Corporation of America's Mobile Lifeline (included). No registration, no coverage.'" Moblie Lifeline includes something that sounds like a benign Trojan: it lets you retrieve or delete files from your stolen computer if it's ever connected again to the Internet.

3 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Re:5K isn't going to be enough by RedHelix · · Score: 5, Informative

    They've been advertising this service in the TD catalog for a couple of months. The 1,500 warranty is for HARDWARE damage. Obviously, viruses and trojans are unlikely to ever cause a physical hardware problem with the machine, and even if they do it would be impossible to prove. They're essentially promoting a software warranty that they'll never have to honor.

  2. not a new angle... by ccwaterz · · Score: 2, Informative

    I actually worked for a start up that tried this years ago. The company has been dead for 2 years now, but evidence of it still lingers. Google combinations of "Promisemark", "Virus Protection Plan", "Identity Theft Protection Plan", etc...

  3. Re:This makes no sense at all by finkployd · · Score: 2, Informative

    That is great to hear, but I suspect your bank is the minority.

    And either way, the real problem is the instant credit industry, which has no real reason to exist yet opens up all of these ID theft problems by rushing to approve any and all credit without any checking of identity. They treat SSN like a kerberos ticket when it is barely even a good ID.

    Finkployd